“Now look! That damned cowboy is President of the United States!” -Sen. Mark Hanna

Today in History, September 14:  1901 – About a year earlier, Senator Mark Hanna had been discussing with other high-powered Republican leaders whether or not to enlist New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt to be the Vice-Presidential nominee for President William McKinley’s second term.  Hanna made no bones about his opposition, “Don’t any of you realize there’s only one life between this madman and the presidency?”  But, other political leaders from New York state wanted the head-strong reformer out of their governor’s office, and most felt he would be rendered harmless as VP.  However this former NYC Police Commissioner, Under Secretary of the Navy, Colonel of the Rough Riders and yes, Cowboy, was wildly popular and would be a boon for the ticket.  When named, TR set records on the campaign trail.

On today’s date in 1901 President McKinley succumbed to infection from his wounds from being shot by an anarchist at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.  McKinley had prided himself on shaking as many hands as possible, and was prepared to shake his assassin’s hand when shot by a concealed .32 revolver.

It initially looked as if President McKinley would recover, so Roosevelt left his side in Buffalo and joined his family mountain climbing in the Adirondacks.  When the first messenger ran up the mountain to inform TR that the President had taken a turn for the worse, he decided to stay with his family.  When the second messenger came up the mountain to say the President was dying, Roosevelt left immediately.  He once gain set records in wild wagon rides to make it to the nearest train station and return to McKinley’s side.  It was not to be….WM had passed while TR was on his wild ride down the mountain.

Theodore Roosevelt paid his respects at the residence where McKinley’s body laid, then was sworn in as the youngest President at a friends home in Buffalo in a small ceremony.

When TR asked Mark Hanna for his support, Hanna had two conditions…that Roosevelt would continue McKinley’s policies (sort of did) and…if Roosevelt would stop calling Hanna the “old man”, Hanna would stop referring to TR by the nickname he hated, “Teddy.”  Hanna gave his support, but the nicknames continued.

Today in History, September 13, 1847

imageToday in History, September 13: 1847 – In the midst of the Battle for Mexico City during the Mexican-American War, The US Army, US Marines, work together to storm Chapultepec Castle, and take it. It was a key defensive position for General Antonio López de Santa Anna. While the battle itself was of importance in establishing American presence on the international stage, it is much more important in my estimation for other reasons….Key players among the American forces were US Army Capt Robert E. Lee, who convinced commanding General Winfield Scott of the winning strategy, along with a young US Army Lieutenant, Pierre G. T. Beauregard. Lt. Col. Joseph E. Johnston fought in the battle, and George Pickett was the first soldier to top the wall of the castle. Lt. Thomas J. Jackson (Stone Wall) fought valiantly; Lt. Ulysses S. Grant found a strategic artillery position from which to fight during the taking of Mexico City; Naval officer Raphael Semmes saw his actions and found an equal position on the opposite side of the road to cover the enemy. Can you imagine? All of these men served together, bled together, and then in the end took up arms against each other in the Civil War over ideological differences. Think of your very best friend…and then think about taking up arms against him. This was the enigma of the Civil War. There are countless stories of episodes where, during a lull in a battle, or after a defeat, Confederates and Unionist soldiers took the opportunity to meet and commiserate with old friends on the opposite side….Another aspect is that the US Marines played an important part in the seizure of the castle, thus the beginning lines of the Marine Hymn, “From the Halls of Montezuma…”. My research also indicates that the red stripe down the side of the blue slacks of the US Marine uniform represents the blood shed by US Marines during this battle.  As the American Flag was being raised over the castle, in full view of both armies, thirty members of the “St. Patricio’s Battalion” were hanged en masse by the order of General Winfield Scott.  Several hundred immigrants from several nations that were members of the US Army had deserted and fought with the Mexican Army against their former comrades, fighting fiercely.  They are remembered as traitors North of the border, and as heroic martyrs South of the border.  When told that one of the men to be hanged had lost both legs the day before, the officer in charge of the hanging, Col. William Harney, stated, “Bring the damned son of a bitch out! My order was to hang 30 and by God I’ll do it!”

Today in History, September 8,1966

imageHappy 50th Anniversary Star Trek!  On this night in 1966 the crew of the U.S.S Enterprise began their five year mission to boldly go where no man has gone before. They did so in more ways than one by working the social issues of the sixties into their scripts and making casting decisions that were bold for the time.

Captain James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Scotty, Bones, Lt. Uhura, Mr. Sulu, Mr. Chekov and many others invigorated our imaginations and made us believe anything was possible….such as the Kobayashi Maru training exercise.

This Trekkie thanks you!

First blog post

As the site name says, I love history.  Beyond the normal (though accurate) platitudes about being doomed to repeat history if we don’t know it, I simply find it fascinating.  Finding out the details in the lives of those that we usually only get a glance at that made our history makes them real and humanizes them for us.

Most evenings find me reading history or browsing through “This Day in History” sites researching for new information.  When I’m driving, I’m listening to a History audio book.  Several years ago I began to share my finds in a “Today in History”  post each day on Facebook.  Some things just have to be shared.  To my surprise and delight, many of my friends have enjoyed the posts and have been very supportive.  Many of my family and friends have encouraged me to expand to a broader audience, so at long last, here I am.  It took awhile because I am not a professional historian (lets get that out of the way.)  I am an avid, devout, amateur at this point.  Some day I hope to change that if I can.  For now my passion for History is quenched when I am not working and doing all of the things we worker bees do.

One of my pet peeves is revisionist history.  Historians often believe they must re-write history to be relevant.  Studies that look at lead deposits in the ground 150 years after the event and decide that their findings mean those who were actually there didn’t know what they were seeing annoy me.  “Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?”  Of course those that took part in the events have their biases; and it is difficult to record an entire battle while you are fighting it.  However, their first person accounts should not be discounted easily.  I try not to judge those in History too harshly…only to learn about them and from them.

I really enjoy finding connections throughout history that most people don’t see.  These are what I most enjoy sharing.  One of my favorite examples is Francis Scott Key.  He wrote the Star Spangled Banner for us, remember?  Did you know that his son, Phillip Barton Key II became the District Attorney for the District of Columbia?  In the midst of his duties he found the time to have an affair with the young wife of a Congressman named Daniel Sickles…somewhat of a whore monger himself…who shot Key dead in Lafayette Park across the street from the Executive Mansion (It wasn’t the White House until Theodore Roosevelt made it so.)  Sickles was the first person in America to use the “temporary insanity defense” suggested by his attorney, Edwin Stanton.  Sickles would become a Civil War hero (sort of…he was not a good commander) and Stanton would become Secretary of War for President Lincoln.

So.  My intent is to share these tidbits that I find in my History explorations with you.  I sincerely hope that you enjoy them as much as I do.